BIG MOVE: The 9,000 jobs at risk are a result of a massive shake up of the Tesco business (Pic: GETTY)

Jason Tarry, CEO of Tesco UK and Ireland, added: "In our four years of turnaround we've made good progress, but the market is challenging and we need to continually adapt to remain competitive and respond to how customers want to shop.

"We're making changes to our UK stores and head office to simplify what we do and how we do it, so we're better able to meet the needs of our customers.

"This will impact some of our colleagues and our commitment is to minimise this as much as possible and support our colleagues throughout."